Looking forward to continued collaboration with Greenock

Colin Fletcher is technical market manager for UPM Caledonian paper, one of the world’s leading forest products groups. Here, Colin explains what he is looking forward to discussing most at the upcoming Peel Ports Clydeport event in Glasgow on Thursday 28 September.

When I was asked to be part of a panel of speakers at Peel Ports Clydeport Gateway to Scotland event, it got me thinking about the length of time we have been working together.

Our first experience with Clydeport was in 1989 which was the same year our paper mill opened. We’ve been working together for as long as we’ve been trading.

Fast forward almost 30 years and they are continuing to help us import raw materials and export our paper reels to countries all over the world.

Using Greenock as a two-way touchpoint has been crucial to our success, and indeed the success of our collaboration. The first touchpoint is with our pulp which comes from Scandinavia and the Americas on general cargo vessels. The product is unloaded at the port and sent via road haulage to our paper mill for processing. Once it has been treated and transformed to paper rolls, it is then returned to the port and dispatched around the globe.

While this all sounds very straightforward, the reality is that a great deal of planning and precision goes into making this process as seamless as possible to ensure our cargo gets to our customers in the best condition and on time. And that’s what we’ve come to really appreciate and anticipate from our partnership with the team at Clydeport. They understand our business. And the fact that they are on our doorstep is an added bonus.

The thing I am looking forward to most at the upcoming conference is the opportunity to enhance our relationship with Peel Ports Clydeport.